Apparatus for making a fastener section for securing elastic material thereto

ABSTRACT

An apparatus comprising means for feeding a continuous rectangular shaped strip of tape, having eyelet fasteners secured thereto, with one edge of said tape having two separate folds, said apparatus having separating means to lift the upperfold to separate it from the lower fold. The apparatus is further provided with cutting means for making spaced parallel slits in the lower folded edge. Knife means are provided for cutting the continuous tape into individual pieces. Feed means are provided for feeding the individual pieces at right angles to the initial direction of travel of the continuous tape and sewing means are provided for sewing the opposite edges of the individual pieces into a continuous strip so that the finished product has transversely extending spaced parallel double folds for insertion of an elastic strip to be sewed therebetween.

. llnit ed States Patent [191 Simon 11] 3,810,435 [451" May 14, 1974 [75] Inventor: Jack Simon, Rye, NY.

[73] Assignee: L. M. Rabinowitz & Company, New

York, N .Y.

[22] Filed: Sept. 26, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 289,710

52 us. ci. 112/105 3,664,282 5/1972 Wagan. 112/l2l.l5

Primary Examiner-George V. Larkin Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Keith Misegades [57] ABSTRACT An apparatus comprising means for feeding a continuous rectangular shaped strip of tape, having eyelet fasteners secured thereto, with one edge of said tape having two separate folds, said apparatus having separating means to lift the upperfold to separate it from the lower fold. The apparatus is further provided with cutting means for making spaced parallel slits in the lower folded edge. Knife means are provided for cutting the continuous tape into individual pieces. Feed means are provided for feeding theindividual pieces at right angles to the initial direction of travel of the continuous tape and sewing means are provided for sewing the opposite edges of the individual pieces into a continuous strip so that the finished product has transversely extending spaced parallel double folds for insertion of an elastic strip to be sewed therebetween.

8 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PA'TENTEUIAY 14 m4 saw 2 0F 4 FIG4 PATENTEDNAY 14 m4 FIGS) 3810.435 SHEET '4 0F I Q64 II I! II II FIELD OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for the manufacture of parts of adjustable fasteners to be used, for example, in connecting the rear end portions of brassieres or the like, each fastener part comprising a piece of fabric tape having one or more fastener elements such as hooks or eyes secured thereon to one end or transverse edge on which, is secured a short elastic strap, and the side or longitudinal edges of the piece are bound by lines of stitches.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for manufacturing separate and individual fastener sections without the strap or garment attached thereto, but which has at least one of the strips formed to serve as a flap for attachment of a strap end or garment and to provide a separated fold.

I BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The production of hook and eye tape for incorporation into brassieres has reached a fairly advanced stage. Apparatus for producing a continuous strip having evenly spaced pairs of eyes with two or three vertically spaced pairs of eyes (required for adjustment of the back of the brassiere) exists in the public domain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is by the terms of the invention only necessary to make vertical cuts in such tape to obtain individual eye elements which may be sewn to a piece of elastic web which may be joined to a brassiere. The practice of this invention is intended to perform the cutting operation automatically. The strip has a double thickness'at its lower edge (when viewed with the bow of the eye up). It is desired to insert the piece of the elastic web between the two thicknesses of the strip as itis necessary to provide means for permitting the separation of the two thicknesses. This invention also performs this function. It is 'also desirable-to bind the cut edges of the severed pieces of the strip to prevent fraying. This is also accomplished by the invention. If the cut pieces are also arranged in end-to-end relation, lightly connected by thread, the rearranged strip can be fed more-efficient ly into a machine for sewing on the elastic web pieces. This is also within the purview of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Various other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, and in which:

FIG. I is a perspective overall view of the apparatus embodied in the present invention, viewed from the rear;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the slitting portion of the invention looking in the direction indicated by the arrows 2-2 in FIG. 1; I

FIG. 3 is a view of the slitting apparatus portion looking in the direction of the arrows 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of the slitting apparatus portion looking in the direction of the arrows 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of FIG. 3 with portions removed .to illustrate the knives cutting the slits in the separated flap sections along one edge of the continuous tape;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the left end portion of the overall apparatus shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the feed to the sewing machine portion of the apparatus;

FIG. 7 is a view taken in the direction of the arrows FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the presser foot operation shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a top schematic view of the direction of travel in the tape arrangement illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are views of the underside of the finished tape;

FIG. 12 is a schematic showing of the operation of the pressure foot in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 13 is a schematic view of the pressure foot operation illustrated in FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 generally designates the overall improved apparatus embodied in the present invention and includes a slitting or nicking mechanism 12 through which a continuous tape or fabric body strip 14 is fed.

As best seen in FIG. 9, the fabric body strip 14 has a bottom layer 16, a middle layer 18, and an upper layer 20, with the middle layer 18 overlaying the bottom layer 16 and stitched thereto by a line of zigzag stitches 22, and with the upper layer 20 overlaying the middle layer 18 and stitched thereto by a'row of zigzag stitches 24. It will further be noted that the layers 16,18,20 are provided with a plurality of parallel extending hooks or eyes 26 secured by the stitches 22,24 and spaced therealong for use as a part of a fastener for brassieres and the like. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 5, the upper layer 20 comprises two flaps or folds which are separable from each other and comprise a top flap 28 and a bottom flap 30.

The nicking mechanism 12 is provided with a support frame 32, as shown in FIG. 1. The frame is provided with a horizontal table 34 along which the fabric body strip 14 is fed. A slidable guide member 36 is disposed on the table 34 to channel the movement of the fabric body strip 14. It has disposed on it an upstanding L- shaped member 38, (see FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4) with a separate lifting means or vertical leg 40 thereon for lifting and thus separating the top flap 28 away from the bottom flap 30 as the tape passes the L-shaped member 38, so that the flap 30 can then be slit or nicked as described below.

The fabric body strip 14 is fed or pushed along the horizontal table 34 by a pair of feeding means or pusher members 42 moved upwardly and downwardly and supportively held by blocks 44 disposed on a shaft 46, which shaft 46 is connected to an elongated vertical member 48 at either end or both ends of shaft 46, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and having an elongated ver'tical slot 50 therein, as shown in FIG. 4. A pin 52 disposed in slot 50 mounted from an eccentric cam 54 causes the elongated vertical member 48 to oscillate or wobble to raise and lower the pusher members 42. The

eccentric cam 54 is connected to a drive shaft 56 driven by a motor, not shown.

The supporting frame 32 is provided with a pair of cutting knives 58 secured to a knife holder 60 pivoted about a pin 62. The cutting knives 58 are disposed adjacent the rear end of the L-shaped member 38 so that the fabric strip can have its top flap 28 separated from its bottom flap 30 so that the knives 58 will only produce short-lengthed cuts or spaced slits 64 in the bottom flap 30, as best shown in FIG. 5.

Biasing means, not shown, normally maintain the knives 58 in their uppermost position so that they will not slit the bottom flap 30 passing thereunder. At pre determined intervals, a roller holding arm 66 disposed on a shaft 70 contacts the angularly disposed member 68 on the knife holder 60 so as to force the knives 58 downwardly on the horizontal table 34 to cut the spaced slits 64 in the moving fabric strip 14. The roller holding arm 66 is secured to the shaft 70 which has a follower 72 thereon'with a following pin 74, as shown in FIG. 4, which rides in a slot 76 disposed in the periphery of the cam 54. The slot 76, as shown in FIG. 3, has a portion thereof adjacent the inner side 78 of the cam 54 and another portion of the slot disposed adjacent the outer side 80 of the cam 54 with the two portions connected by a transversely extending or diagonal portion of slot 82, as shown in FIG. 3.

As the drive shaft 56 rotates the cam 54 fixed thereto, the follower pin 74 will follow in the slot 82 of the cam 54, causing the roller holding arm 66 to move upwardly when it is in the portion of the slot furthermost from the inner side of slot 76 of cam 54, and causing the roller holding arm 66 to be pushed downwardly aganst the biasing means, not shown, to cause the knives 58 to be pushed against the bottom flap 30 and to slit it when the follower pin 74 is in the portion ofthe slot 76 adjacent the innerside 78 of the cam 54.

Thus as the fabric body strip is fed along the horizontal table 34 at predetermined time intervals the bottom flap 30 will have the spaced slits 64 cut therein along one edge of the fabric strip 14, without the top flap 28, which has been raised by the vertical leg 40, being cut.

After the continuous fabric strip 14 has been slit along its bottom flap 30, it is thereafter passed by conventional means along an apron 84 of FIG. 1 to a sewing machine generally designated 86. As the fabric strip 14 reaches the rear portion of the apron, a knife blade 88 disposed on a shaft 70 actuated by conventional means (not shown) cuts the tape into individual tape sections 92.

After the individual tape sections 92 are cut, they are fed along another apron 94 which is disposed perpendicularly to the apron 84, so that the section 92 is now being fed at right angles to the direction of its initial movement of travel, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 6. The individual tape sections 92 are pushed along the apron 94 by a pusher member 96. The pusher member 96 has conventional biasing means normally holding it downwardly against the apron 94, and a pin 98 extending through a slot 100 in the pusher member is secured to a bar 102 carried by a drive shaft 104, the bar 102 reciprocating longitudinally as the shaft 104 is moved from below to move the pusher member.

When the individual tape sections 92 pass under the sewing needles 106 (see FIGS. 7, 12 and 13) the opposite edges of the individual tape sections are bound with a zigzag stitch by the threads 108 (FIG. 10) along opposite sides thereof and formed again into a continuous tape 130 with spaces 110 between the former individual tape sections 92 (FIG. 9).

The individual tape sections 92 are sewed together along their opposite edges by the needles 106 by the use of two presser feet 111, 112, with the presser foot 111 being connected to a vertical member 114 (see FIGS. 7, 8 and 13) which, in turn, is actuated by a foot lifter 116 (FIG. 6) which, in turn, is actuated by an arm lift 118 operatively connected to a cam 120.

A roller cam 122 (FIG. 8) on the end of arm lift 118 may perform the additional function of actuating bar 102 to drive the pusher member 96 by cam 120, for example, causing transverse movement of the vertical linkage connected to drive shaft 104. Normally, a single presser foot 111 is employed if the fabric fed to the machine were a continuous web; but since the tape sections 92 are separate, two presser feet 111,112 are used, being alternately raised. A first presser foot admits the tape sections 92 to permit the advancing mechanism to engage the sections. As the tape sections move forward, a second presser foot lifts sufficiently to carry the tape sections forward beneath the sewing needles 106 which enter slots 124.

Thus a continuous length of tape formed of a plurality of individually cut tape sections 92 connected by threads 108 and spaces 110 is again produced and the overside and the underside of the finished tape (see FIGS. 10 and 11) comprise bottom layer 16, middle layer 18 and top layer 20, with the top layer 20 now having a pair of double eyes 26 with an undercut flap 132 formed therein by the spaced slits 64 formerly cut from the bottom flap 30 for insertion ofa piece of elastic between the undercut flap 132 and the top flap 28 to form the adjustable portion for a brassiere or the like.

Additional embodiments of the invention in this specification will occur to others and therefore it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited only by the appended claims and not by the embodiment described hereinabove. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following claims in determining the full scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for making a fastener section for securing elasticmaterial thereto comprising means for feeding (42) a continuous rectangular shaped strip of tape to pass in an initial direction and said tape having eyelet fasteners secured thereto and in which at least one edge of said tape has two longitudinally oriented separate folds being parallel and spaced apart;

separate lifting means (38) to lift an upper fold of said two separate folds for separating it from a lower fold of said two separate folds;

cutting means (58) for making a pair of spaced parallel slits (64) in the lower fold (30); knife means (88) for cutting the continuous rectangular shaped strip of tape into individual pieces; means (96) for feeding individually cut pieces produced by said knife means to pass at right angles with respect to the initial direction of travel of said tape; means for sewing (86) newly oriented opposite edges of the individually cut pieces into a continuous apertured strip so that the separate folds have ins'erted therein an elastic strip to be sewed therebetween.

2. The invention according to claim 1, including a 5. The invention of claim 4 including a drive shaft wherein said knife means is actuated by said drive shaft common to means for actuating said roller holding arm.

6. The invention of claim 1, including a common drive means, wherein the cutting means and the knife means are actuable by said common drive means.

7. The invention of claim 1 wherein said means for feeding said individually cut pieces comprises a pusher member.

8. The invention of claim 1, including a presser foot and a vertical member support, wherein said sewing means comprises a pair of sewing needles passing through said presser foot supported by said vertical member support. 

1. Apparatus for making a fastener section for securing elastic material thereto comprising means for feeding (42) a continuous rectangular shaped strip of tape to pass in an initial direction and said tape having eyelet fasteners secured thereto and in which at least one edge of said tape has two longitudinally oriented separate folds being parallel and spaced apart; separate lifting means (38) to lift an upper fold of said two separate folds for separating it from a lower fold of said two separate folds; cutting means (58) for making a pair of spaced parallel slits (64) in the lower fold (30); knife means (88) for cutting the continuous rectangular shaped strip of tape into individual pieces; means (96) for feeding individually cut pieces produced by said knife means to pass at right angles with respect to the initial direction of travel of said tape; means for sewing (86) newly oriented opposite edges of the individually cut pieces into a continuous apertured strip so that the separate folds have inserted therein an elastic strip to be sewed therebetween.
 2. The invention according to claim 1, including a block, a shaft, a pin follower and a slotted cam, wherein said feeding means comprises a set of pusher members supported in said block actuated by said shaft driven by said pin follower positioned in said slotted cam.
 3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said separate lifting means comprises an L-shaped member having a vertical leg to separate top and bottom folds of the upper layer.
 4. The invention of claim 1, including a roller holding arm, wherein said cutting means comprises cutting knives disposed on a knife holder actuated by said roller holding arm.
 5. The invention of claim 4 including a drive shaft wherein said knife means is actuated by said drive shaft common to means for actuating said roller holding arm.
 6. The invention of claim 1, including a common drive means, wherein the cutting means and the knife means are actuable by said common drive means.
 7. The invention of claim 1 wherein said means for feeding said individually cut pieces comprises a pusher member.
 8. The invention of claim 1, including a presser foot and a vertical member support, wherein said sewing means comprises a pair of sewing needles passing through said presser foot supported by said vertical member support. 